In this blog series, we’ve been exploring the key ingredients that make Scotty’s Everyday products so different from any other mixes out there on the market.
While it’s important to us to offer mixes that are keto-friendly, low net carb, gluten-free—and most importantly, something delicious you’ll really want to eat—we don’t just use any ingredients to get to those callouts.
Our recipes start with ingredients that aren’t just empty substitutes, but instead come with strong benefits for your body and health.
If you missed it, check out:
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Part 1 on modified resistant tapioca starch
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Part 2 on allulose
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Part 3 on psyllium husk fiber
Finally, let’s talk about another core ingredient that you’ll find listed on our labels. Introducing inulin—why we love it and how it supports your healthy goals!
Health benefits of inulin
First off, what is inulin? Found naturally in the roots or rhizomes of many types of plants, inulins are a group of polysaccharides. In health speak, inulin is a type of soluble dietary fiber that’s considered to have prebiotic benefits for your gut.
Inulin is found in foods like chicory root, asparagus, Jerusalem artichoke, onions, and garlic. Specifically, our inulin is soured from the chicory plant.
Some people take inulin supplements, but we love it in our baking mixes as a beneficial fat substitute and flour replacement. Here’s why.
Digestive health
Like we mentioned, inulin is considered a prebiotic, meaning that it gets used as food for the good-guy bacteria in your gut microbiome, especially Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli (1). These bacteria can help defend against pathogens and infection, and otherwise support your immune system.
Inulin can also help improve digestion by bulking up stool and increasing the frequency of bowel movements (2). But at the same time, it helps slow overall digestion, aiding the possibility for nutrient absorption as food passes through your system.
Helps control blood sugar
Because inulin helps slow your body’s digestion, it’s also good for supporting healthy blood sugar levels. By slowing the digestion of carbohydrates, it allows sugar to be released gradually without spiking your blood glucose levels.
When used in the diet over time, inulin could act as a potential stabilizer for blood sugar. In a 2019 meta-analysis and systematic review, inulin supplements were found to improve insulin resistance in individuals with Type 2 diabetes, especially those with obesity (3).
Satiety and weight management
Inulin is a soluble fiber that turns into a gel when mixed with water or other fluids in your body. This helps your body feel fuller for longer, because it causes your stomach to empty more slowly.
Because fiber can help keep you feeling full and stabilize blood sugar (preventing spikes that can cause cravings) this can help prevent overeating. By consuming fewer calories in and by stimulating bowel movements (calories out), this could potentially result in healthy weight management.
We love using chicory inulin to add a powerfully beneficial punch to our keto-friendly baking mixes. So what do all of our core ingredients from this blog series have in common? Let’s review!
While modified resistant tapioca starch, allulose, psyllium fiber, and inulin are all unique ingredients with their own benefits for baking and health, they share some common aspects. All of them help aid in digestion, control blood sugar, increase satiety, support healthy weight, and act as prebiotics for your microbiome.
With these four powerful ingredients, we’ve created a line of baking mixes that are also gluten-free and low net carb for your healthy goals and lifestyle. We hope our mixes inspire you to bring the joy of baking and the deliciousness of your favorite foods back into your kitchen, with some solid health benefits at that.
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